Routes
STW2 Hop 6: Rapid City SD to Spearfish SD
.61 miles via US 16, I-90 and US 85. Cumulative tow miles: 939. Truck miles: 144. Cumulative truck miles: 1262. This was a short hop – just over an hour – to get to Spearfish, from which we will do a loop tomorrow touring Deadwood, Lead and Sturgis. It was an easy hop, mostly on … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 5: Interior SD to Rapid City SD
87 miles via US 44 and US 16. Cumulative tow miles: 878. Truck miles: 163. Cumulative truck miles: 1118. This was a “bonus hop” – a hop that was added to our original plan. I had planned to spend 3 nights in Spearfish SD, using one of the days to visit Mt Rushmore. But when … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 4: Mitchell SD to Interior SD
217 miles via I-90, SD 244, SD 370 and SD 44. Cumulative tow miles: 791. Truck miles: 227. Cumulative truck miles: 955. This hop revealed the full drama of the South Dakota landscape. The first 80 miles, from Mitchell to the Missouri River, was flat and boring. Then, suddenly, a big dip to the river … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 3: Fairmont MN to Mitchell SD
192 miles via I-90. Cumulative tow miles: 574. Truck miles: 207. Cumulative truck miles: 728. It doesn’t get any simpler than this: get on I-90, go almost 200 miles, get off. A straight shot west. Boring, but very efficient. No stops whatsoever, until we got close to the destination and got lost for about a … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 2: Oelwein IA to Fairmont MN
202 miles via IA 281, US 218, US 18, I-35 and I-90. Cumulative tow miles: 382. Truck miles: 341. Cumulative truck miles: 521. Another easy trip through beautiful farmland, with a couple of Amish buggies at the start. Nice day, flat terrain, a good audio book (Every 15 Minutes by Lisa Scottoline) to listen to… … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 1: Stoughton WI to Oelwein IA
180 miles via US 51, US 151, US 20 and IA 150. I have been to Dubuque before, but it has probably been over 60 years. Things have changed. The route – primarily US 151 – is a very nice 4-lane road that winds and dips through some beautiful rural countryside. Despite the intermittent rain, … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 7: Michigan City IN to Stoughton WI
220 miles via I-94, US 41, WI 50, US 12, WI 89, US 14 and I-90. Cumulative tow miles: 1439. Truck miles: 282. Cumulative truck miles: 2296. See that U-shaped dip on the Wisconsin portion of the route? I can thank the GPS for that. I was following the map until we got to WI, … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 6: New Hudson MI to Michigan City IN
216 miles via I-96, I-69, I-94 and US 421. Cumulative tow miles: 1219. Truck miles: 438. Cumulative truck miles: 2014. This was a relatively easy hop in terms of navigation – just a few turns. However, there was heavy traffic for almost the entire route and the roads were very rough, as evidenced by one … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 5: Streetsboro OH to New Hudson MI
216 miles via I-480 (south of Cleveland), OH 176, I-90, OH 2, I-280 (east of Toledo), I-75, I-275 (west of Detroit) and I-96. Cumulative tow miles: 1003. Truck miles: 303. Cumulative truck miles: 1576. This was a relatively easy hop, aided by flat, mostly divided highway. Door-to-door travel time was just under 4 hours, which … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 4: Grand Island NY to Streetsboro OH
236 miles via I-190 (north of Buffalo), NY 5, I-90, I-271 (west of Cleveland) and I-480 (west of Cleveland). Cumulative tow miles: 787. Truck miles: 340. Cumulative truck miles: 1273. This was supposed to be an easy hop – one almost entirely on interstate highways. But I opted to travel almost 30 miles on NY … Continue reading